Whitney Houston’s Fame and Struggles in New Doc Trailer

The clip previews the film’s sweeping structure, touching on her early family life, ascent to fame and ultimate struggle with drug addiction. It also touches on her turbulent relationship with former husband Bobby Brown: “Bobby was jealous,” an interviewee recalls. “He wanted to be on the stage; he wanted to be [at] the forefront. And eventually, she stepped down to lift him up.”

In one intimate backstage scene, Houston vents about the pressures of stardom. “People think it’s so easy, and it’s not,” she says before criticizing a fellow pop artist. “Paula Abdul ain’t shit. That girl is singing off-key on the record.”